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IFJ announces Global Day of Solidarity for Philippines

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(IFJ/IFEX) - IFJ Asia-Pacific and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) are seeking region-wide support for a Global Day of Solidarity on December 9, 2009 to condemn the massacre of at least 30 journalists in Mindanao Province, in the southern Philippines, on November 23. This is the single worst atrocity against media personnel in worldwide history. Prior to the massacre, at least 75 journalists had been killed under the Arroyo government and only four cases have seen successful prosecutions. Outside of Iraq, the Philippines has become the most dangerous country for journalists this century. The IFJ is sending an international mission to Manila from December 4-10 to support the NUJP, provide solidarity to journalists and the families of victims, and send the clearest message possible to the Government that this is an outrage they will not be allowed to forget.

We request your help to reinforce this message, to demonstrate our sorrow, anger and determination that this atrocity will not go unpunished. To do this, the IFJ calls on all affiliates to join the December 9 Global Day of Solidarity, which will coincide with a press conference by mission members and the NUJP in Manila, one day before International Human Rights Day on December 10.

Two people were convicted of murdering journalists in 2016. Nevertheless, the Philippines remains one of the most dangerous places in the world to practice journalism, and violent attacks against media workers usually go unpunished.

Impunity for crimes against journalists was compounded by a lack of progress in trials related to the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, an election-related crime in which 32 journalists and other media staff were among the 58 people killed.

Press freedom in the Philippines continued to be under attack from 2014 to 2015. The killing of journalists is continuing, with four journalists killed from May 2014 to May 2015. The trial of the accused masterminds of the Ampatuan (Maguindanao) Massacre and their supposed henchmen is continuing, but with a primary accused was released, while a witness in the same case was killed.

CMFR has issued a monograph report on the issues of journalists' safety, from the perspective of owners/their representatives. The report included discussions on how the owners see their responsibilities and their capacity to provide protection, the problems and what they perceive to be the most serious challenge to the protection of journalists

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